4 Steps to Begin Building a Culture of Safety at Your Business

When it comes to workplace safety, I’ve noticed that companies generally fall into one of three categories:

1. Reactive: They have a safety manual…somewhere (give them a day or two to track it down).
2. Reactive/proactive hybrid: They hold an annual workplace safety seminar (and they know where their safety manual is).
3. Proactive: They build a culture where safety is part of everything they do.

The wild part is that while the first two businesses only think about safety when they have to, they often end up expending much more energy on it than businesses of the third variety, even though the latter incorporates safety into everything they do.

This happens for two reasons:

1. When safety issues inevitably arise, reactive companies have to piece together a solution from scratch, leading to stress, lost time, added cost, and other issues.
2. By leaving safety unaddressed, they are operating under the constant threat of business-closing injuries due to lawsuits, OSHA/DOT fines, etc.

But you’re a business owner, not a babysitter. How can you make sure your business and employees are operating safely day in and day out?

In other words, how can you create a culture of safety at your workplace?

While building a safe culture is not a simple process, it is simply a process. Once in place, it can change the trajectory of your business for the long term, impacting your profitability, competitive advantage, employee retention and more.

How does it work? Today, I want to look at four key steps your business can take to build a culture of safety. Most businesses address one or two of these areas and call it good. If you want to truly prioritize employee safety, you’ll want to address all four.

1. Appoint a ‘Safety Czar’ to Oversee Your Culture of Safety

Investing in the safety of your people requires that you invest in safety-minded people. At the very least, you need a “safety czar” of your company who can help coordinate trainings and communication and make sure your protocols are being followed in the field.

Your safety czar can be an internal person who takes on the role in addition to their usual responsibilities, or you can hire an external safety consultant. Whoever it is, make sure you assign it to someone who will take full ownership. It won’t work if someone half-owns it. If you choose an internal person, be sure to carve time out of their schedule so they can actually do the job.

The safety czar should straddle both the administrative area – overseeing inspections, trainings, etc.– and the front lines where injuries can happen. By choosing someone with a well-rounded perspective, you aren’t just checking the “safety” box for your business, you are moving toward actually improving your company’s approach to safety – and you’re laying the groundwork for a culture change.

2. Practice What You Preach

People are the most important part of any business, and not just because you care about your employees. When your team operates in unsafe conditions, your whole business is at risk. One injury could be enough to close your doors forever, or at a minimum cause damage to your reputation and your profitability.

If you are in a business where employee injuries are an inherent risk, leadership has to actually believe that safety is a core value of the company. If safety is just a talking point you bring up at meetings, it will show. 

When safety matters to your leaders, it will matter to your employees. The best way to find out if you practice what you preach is by looking at the people who follow your lead – your employees. 

When you talk about safety, it can’t just be lip service – you have to back it up with your actions. You may not say a word when you walk around a jobsite without a hard hat, but your people will get the message loud and clear: “Workplace safety isn’t actually important.” 

When you invest in worker safety, you commit to sending your people home at the end of the day the same way they came in at the beginning. You want your people to go home to their families safe. Sure, you operate your business for profit, but your number one priority needs to be protecting your people.

That all comes back to what you communicate – both in word and deed. 

3. Keep Your Safety Equipment Updated

If you’re in a high-risk industry like construction, OSHA standards require you to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hard hats and safety glasses to your team. Construction safety is no joke, and most of the liability comes down to the employer rather than the employee, even if the employee is at fault.

In order to maintain OSHA compliance, you should audit your safety gear regularly. Toss any broken equipment in the trash and replace it with new stuff.

If your people know that there is a difference between the good hard hats and the bad ones, there’s a problem. By asking them to wear unsuitable safety equipment, you are again sending a message without saying a word: “Worker safety isn’t important.”

4. Invest in Technology

It’s amazing what you can do with technology these days. While the tech you use will depend on your industry and your needs, there is a wealth of tools available. 

• Dash cams can help highlight driving behaviors that require additional training.
• Training software can help make sure everyone has access to the education they need on their own schedule. 
• Sensors can predict maintenance patterns for your equipment, helping you keep it functioning properly.
• Mobile apps can make reporting jobsite issues quick and easy.

It seems like more tools come out every day that make it easier for companies to monitor safety effectively and efficiently. A quick internet search of “[your industry] safety technology” can show you which options are available to you.

Start Building a Culture of Working Safely

By investing in these four core areas, you are choosing to take a proactive approach to safety at your company, laying the foundation for a safe culture. If it feels like a lot, take it one step at a time. Before long, you’ll turn into a proactive company where safety is just a part of what you do rather than a source of stress and uncertainty.

Ready to Talk to a Safety Consultant?

At Ellerbrock-Norris, we help companies in the construction, manufacturing and service industries address safety from a holistic perspective that protects your people and your business. Contact us to schedule a consultation.